Sister Marva Coakley was installed as the fifth Prioress of St. Martin Monastery, Nassau, The Bahamas on May 18, 2018. Sister Kerry O’Reilly, President of the Federation, presided over the installation at which all members of the community were present as well as family, friends of the community and coworkers of Sister Marva.

Sister Annie Thompson transfers authority to Sister Marva during the Installation when she gives her the Rule of Benedict and the Mission Statement of the monastery.

The Sisters’ discernment process culminated in three days of discernment/reflection facilitated by Sister Aileen Bankemper.

Sister Marva has been active in education for many years and will complete the school year as she begins her term of four years. The prioresses and delegates will have the pleasure of meeting her when she arrives for the Federation Chapter in July of this year.

The prayer intention for Annunciation Monastery’s monthly Day of Contemplation this month is the Federation of Saint Benedict and its future planning. We remember all the members of the Federation and ask the Lord to bless us as we discern what the future holds for each of our communities and the Federation. I

We Sisters here at Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, ND, are getting ready to host Sister delegates and others from all of our member monasteries at our triennial Federation Chapter meeting this July! Sister Nancy Gunderson (Bismarck) created this beautiful image for us to reflect on as we discuss and think about our theme: Walking into the Future: Tending the Benedictine Charism. We can’t wait to see everyone!

In a little more than 10 weeks, delegates from all of our monasteries will be together. We speak four languages. Yet we want to feel united in one Federation.

There is still time to learn at least a few phrases from the three languages that are not our native tongue. Memrise is a free resource that will help us do that, no matter which language is our native tongue. (The Pro version has more resources and charges a fee.)

Choose your native language in the upper right hand corner. Choose the language(s) you want to work on in in the drop-down menu, or from images that appear on the screen. The lessons are simple. They focus on hearing and speaking, especially if you choose a “no script” set of lessons.

For sisters with smartphones, there are free iPhone and Android apps so you can practice on the go. Or you can work with the website.

Use the dropdown menu on the right side of the screen to choose your language

Our new WordPress blog offers automatic Google translations. These are far from perfect because they are computer-made. Google Translate is easily confused by idioms. However, the automatic translation is usually good enough to understand something of what was written.

Translation is available into dozens of languages, perhaps some you may not have heard or seen before. The image below shows the current list of Google Translate options, and they are updated often.

We have been an international federation. Now we are an international blog as well.

Northwestern United States is home to forests of tall sturdy trees, mountains, round and jagged, bodies of water full of life and St. Placid Priory, home to our Sisters. We completed the Visitation process with the Sisters in early September. The visitators were Sister Ramona Varela, BSPA, from Tucson and Sister Linda Soler, OSB, St. Paul’s Monastery and President of the Federation, Sister Kerry O’Reilly.

Sisters Paula, LaVerne, and Carol helped make 140 sandwiches with our community partners Tubman and CommonBond. The sandwiches will be distributed to homeless people through a church sandwich ministry. They made sandwiches as part of our neighborhood picnic.

I, Wisdom, am with you.
I am a light that will never grow dim.
Love me and you will see me.
Look for me and you will find me.
At the slightest indication of your desire for me,
I will make myself known to you.
Watch for me at the very start of what you
are about, and you will have no trouble.
You will find me, ever present, sitting at your table.
Even thinking about my presence will help you.
Be aware of my presence, my concern,
my willingness to inspire and to instruct you.
As you meet with each other,
I will meet with each and all of you.
Wisdom 6.12-17